


A King or a Thief?

by AllTheQueensHorses



Category: The Queen's Thief - Megan Whalen Turner
Genre: Character Death, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:14:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24972928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllTheQueensHorses/pseuds/AllTheQueensHorses
Summary: Spoilers for The King of Attolia!What if the events in the garden had taken place a bit differently and Costis wasn’t there to stop them?
Kudos: 15





	A King or a Thief?

When Eugenides opened his eyes, the sky was a bright, cloudless blue above him. He moved his head groggily, trying both to regain his senses and to remember why he was lying on his back. The world spun around him, like it did when he’d had way too much wine over dinner. He blinked, confused. He couldn’t remember why he was on the ground.

Costis was there by his side suddenly, looking strangely alarmed and panicked for his usual stoic self, his lips moving in silent words. Had he been knocked out by his lieutenant during sparring? His stomach throbbed and his heartbeat was pounding in his ears, blocking out what Costis was trying to say to him or maybe Costis was just speaking too quietly. Eugenides would have to remember to advise him on the benefits of speaking articulately when he had the chance, letting your king hear what you were saying being only one of them. 

Eugenides gazed up into the sky again, watching a pair of pigeons flying over split into four and then back to two, when something wet hit his cheek. He looked distractedly for the rain cloud but the sky was the same brilliant blue it was that morning. 

He turned to tell Costis about the rain-with-no-clouds and....was Costis crying? Eugenides blinked slowly in confusion. He must have truly hit Eugenides hard if he felt badly enough about it to cry about it. He was probably worried about his rank in the Queen’s Guard again, knowing him. It wouldn’t do to have a Lieutenant consistently hit the King during sword practice, even if it was accidental. 

Eugenides tried to tell him that it would be okay, whatever he had done wasn’t a hanging offense and his rank would be kept, but he was strangely out of breath and could only gasp for air. His stomach was starting to ache quite fiercely, on second thought. Costis must have knocked the wind out of him.

Costis was replaced by Irene then, her hair falling over her shoulder in a long intricate braid. She was crying too. Eugenides didn’t think he had ever seen her publicly express so much emotion. Even on their wedding day she had kept the same serene, graceful look she so often wore. He hated seeing her so distraught and he would ask her why she was once he caught his breath again.

Gods, his stomach was hurting. He tried to feel his abdomen to see why it hurt, but his hand was slowly going numb and he couldn’t tell what had happened. 

Irene was holding him to her chest, her arms wrapped around him so tightly it almost hurt. He raised a hand to cup her cheek to comfort her and noticed the back of his hand was spiderwebbed with red. 

Why was it red? 

It all came back to him then, the assassins in the garden and Costis running for him from too far away. Eugenides had taken the first two of the three assassins out with his hook but the last one had spun around him faster than he could react and was dangerously close to him. Over the assassin’s shoulder he could see Costis, running as if in slow motion, his sword drawn, then Eugenides fell.

He wished he could say something to comfort his wife. Eugenides didn’t care what happened to him, he had long ago made peace with his gods, but he didn’t want her to cry. He wanted nothing but the world for her and it broke his heart to see her so. He wanted to remind her that the Thief of Eddis could only die by falling if the god of thieves decided it was time, but then again he was the King of Attolia now, wasn’t he?

His vision was fading around the edges as if the sun was setting, the black shadows creeping in. It was becoming increasingly more and more effort to stay awake now. At least the pounding in his head had quieted. 

A little voice in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like his father was yelling at him that he needed to stay awake but he could still see Costis there over Irene’s shoulder. He could close his eyes for a few minutes, Costis could take care of things while he slept. 

He was so tired.

Eugenides closed his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Hopefully I didn’t traumatize anyone too much... ;)


End file.
